anderson



(No Model.) 7 2 Sheets-Qheet 1. F. ANDERSON. GAR COUPLING No. 500,731.Patented July 4, 1893'.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. i

(No Model.)

' F. ANDERSON.

GAR GOUPLING Patented July 4, 1893.

I- m IHI J J IIIIIIW M UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

FRANK ANDERSON, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE S.CROSBY, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 500,731, dated July 4,1893.

Application filed July 9, 1892. g erial No. 439,538. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK ANDERSON, a citi- Zen of the United States,residing at the city of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Improvement in OarOouplings, ofwhich the following is a specification. This invention relates to theclass of car couplings which comprise essentially a hori- [o zontallyswinging coupling jaw or hook pivoted to the draw-head, and a lockingdevice which holds the coupling hook in its closed or coupled position,and more particularly to couplings of this kind in which the couplinghook is moved into its open position by posi tive means when releasedfrom its lockin g device.

My invention has for its objects to improve the means for positivelythrowing the coupling hook into its open position and to relieve thepivot pin of the coupling hook from the strains due to the impact orconcussion of the couplingswhen two cars come together.

In the accompanying drawings consisting of two sheets:Figure 1 is ahorizontal section of my improved car coupling showing the coupling hookin its closed or coupled position. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing thecoupling hook unlocked and partly thrown open. Fig. 3 is a similar viewshowing the coupling hook entirely thrown open. Fig. 4 is a detachedperspective view of the coupling jaw or hook. Fig. 5 is a similar viewof the locking pawl. Fig. 6 is a similar view of the shifting arm orfinger. Fig. 7 is a vertical cross section of the coupling in line 0c-m,Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a horizontal section of the drawhead with theoperative parts of the coupling removed. Fig. 9 is a detached bottomplan view of the coupling hook.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

A is the draw-head which is recessed or chambered in the usual manner.

45 B is the coupling jaw or hook pivoted to the forwardly projecting armCt of the drawhead by an upright pin 0 and having the usual locking armI), and D is the locking pawl whereby the coupling hook is locked in its50 closed or coupled position and which is swung out of engagement withthe locking arm of the coupling hook by a chain attached to the pawl andextending upwardly through an opening in the upper side of thedraw-head, in a well known manner. 5 5

c is the usual incline upon which the locking pawl rests and whereby thesame is antomatically returned to its forward position when released byits operating mechanism.

F is a shifting arm or finger carried by the looking pawl D and whichthrows the coupling hook to its open or uncoupled position when thelocking pawl is moved out of engagement with the coupling hook. Thisshifting finger is pivoted at its inner end to the free endof thelocking pawl by a pin or rivet f and is arranged with its outer portionbetween the rear side of the locking arm I) of the coupling hook and theadjacent side wall of the recessed head. The shifting finger is 7cprovided at its outer end with a forwardly extending hook or lip g whichis adapted to engage against a nose or shoulder 72. formed on the rearside of the locking arm.

When the coupling hook is in its locked or coupled position, as shown inFig. 1, the shoulder at the outer end of the locking pawl bears againstthe front side of the locking arm of the coupling hook, and the lip ofthe shifting finger lies between the rear side of the coup- 8o ling hookand the adjacent side wall of the draw-head. Upon swinging the lockingpawl out of engagement with the arm of the coupling hook, the shiftingfinger is moved rear wardly with the pawl, which movement causes 8 5 itshook or lip g to strike the nose 77. on the locking arm of the couplinghook, as shown in Fig. 2, thereby swinging said arm outwardly andpositively throwing the coupling hook to its open or uncoupled position.During its 0 rearward movement the shifting finger bears with its rearside against the adjacent wall of the draw-head which wall limits theoutward swing of the finger, and thereby compels the hook of the fingerto strike the nose of the 5 coupling hook when the locking pawl is swungout of engagement with the locking arm of the coupling hook. Uponreleasing the retracted locking paw], it rides down its incline e bygravity, thereby automatically returning to too its former position andswinging the shifting finger back to the position shown in Fig. 1.

When the open coupling hook is swung into its closed or coupled positionby striking the hook of an opposing car, the locking pawl automaticallyinterlocks with the arm of the coupling hook and retains the latter inits coupled position, in the manner common to this class of carcouplings.

My improved coupling consists of but few parts and permits the draw-headto be constructed on the lines prescribed by the Master Oar BuildersAssociation and to be easily cast.

As shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, the lower jaw of the bifurcated arm a ofthe draw-head is formed with an upwardly projecting-cylindrical boss orjournal t' and the hub of the coupling hook is provided axially in itsunder side with a correspondingly-shaped socket or recess j whichreceives the boss 2'. This boss surrounds the pivot pin of the couplinghook and receives the principal part of the strain to which the couplinghook is subjected in coupling cars, thereby relieving the pivot pin andlessening the liability of bending or breaking it. By reducing thestrain upon the pin, a pin of smaller diameter may be employed and theopenings in the coupling hook for receiving the pin may becorrespondingly smaller, thus leaving more stock in the hook around thepin openings and enabling it to more effectually withstand the blowswhich it receives in coupling. Sufficient space is left between theupper and lower jaws of the arm a of the draw-head to permit the socketof the coupling hook to be passed over the boss of the arm ainintroducing the hook between said jaws.

If desired, the arrangement of the socket and the boss may be reversedwithout changing the function of the parts; that is, the boss may beformed on the bottom of the coupling hook and the socket in the arm a ofthe drawhead.

I claim as my invention-- The combination with the draw head and theswinging coupling jaw having a locking arm, of a horizontally swinginglocking pawl pivoted to the draw head and adapted to engage with itsfree inner end against the looking arm of the coupling jaw, and aseparate shifting finger pivoted at its inner end to the free end of thehorizontally-swinging locking pawl and extending from the pawl forwardlyinto the space between the back of said looking arm and the adjacentinner side of the draw head, whereby the coupling jaw is positivelymoved to its open or unlocked position upon swinging the pivoted lockingpawl out of engagement with the locking arm of the coupling jaw,substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 2d day of July, 1892.

FRANK ANDERSON.

Witnesses:

GEORGE S. URosBY, CARL F. GEYER.

